16 Miles....and finally Bolieving (Not a Typo)

     To quote the WWE's Bo Dallas, "You have got to BOLIEVE!"

     I'm beginning to do just that.  This past week and weekend my runs went a little off schedule.  It's still busy at work and I needed two days rest after the previous week's 14 miles.  I ended up running last Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.   Saturday was the day for the long run, but I planned on doing my 16 miles on Sunday instead.   My best friend's little girl turned one last week and Saturday was the party (it was a breakfast themed!  Super tasty.)  There was a snag that day, however.  It was unseasonably AWESOME outside here in the 'burgh! Temperatures were close to 70 degrees.  In February.  That is just plain crazy.  I had to fight the urge to run because I knew I needed a day's rest before punching in 16 miles.  My girlfriend was able to put in 6 miles for her half marathon training and I was a little jealous of that.  I really did want to run.  She did awesome and felt awesome afterwords.  I knew I'd have my day in the sun, too, and knowing she was feeling great made me feel great as well.

     I kept checking the weather all day and all I kept seeing was rain.  I was going to have no choice but to run in the rain with the treadmill being still broken.  Hours later, that changed.  NO RAIN! It was also going to be 48 and cloudy, but I'll take it!

     I was a little worried yet again because 16 miles just seemed so far. Sure I did 14 just a week ago, but it really kicked my behind.  However, when you get a text from your girlfriend first thing in the morning (when she should be sleeping in) that says "have a good run. You got this," you start to feel like you do.

     I got to the SCRR garage to meet the group and as I went to put my gloves on, one looked like this:

I guess is my gloves are ready to rock, I should be, too.

     There were not a lot of people at the garage.  I saw maybe 30 that were there for the group run.   I decided to play it safe and drop my pace from the 9:30 minute mile down to the 10:00 minute mile.   I ended up running with 5 other guys and that was all we had.  When 5 guys are running across the Smithfield Street Brige singing out load to Hall And Oate's "Kiss Is On My List" rather loudly, you know you're in for a good run.  (Yes, that is a song on my play list, and it comes on when I run.  Does anyone have a problem with that?  I didn't think so.)  This breaking out into random chorus happened quite a few times, and it just added to the fun of the morning's run.

Me in the green.  Photo courtesy of Dave Spell at SCRR.

     At about 10 miles in, I didn't feel tired at all.   I knew that if I dropped my pace down that my body would react better to it, and I was right.  We got back to the garage at 14 miles and I still felt great!  The gentlemen I was running with were meeting up with someone else, but I didn't want to stop.  I kept going along the north shore and when my watch went off at the 15 mile mark, I still felt great.   At that point, a huge smile broke across my face.  I kid you not, that last mile I smiled the entire time.  I was about to do this!  I was about to finish a 16 mile run, and I still felt great.  I didn't feel tired. I was still smiling.  My watch then went off again.  I stopped.  I reacted.

The face of a 43 year old man who just did something he never would have even thought about 20 years ago.

    

     I had to take a minute and just enjoy what I had just done.  Running 16 miles seemed like a stretch, but it was now a reality.  I felt pretty proud of myself.  I was standing tall.   To top it off, the day itself turned out to be another beautiful one.   The guys I was originally running with made their way back down to where I was, so I ended up joining them for one more mile to cap off the day. I now had 17 miles under my belt.  But, I didn't do that without taking advantage of being on the North Shore and snapping a few pictures.  This is Pittsburgh and it not only shines at night, but shines on a beautiful, sunny day.

     That's about all I have for this week.   I truly appreciate all of you taking the time out of your night or day by reading what I've talked about.  I do.   This past weekend has made me realize that this 26.2 miles on May 1st is something I can really accomplish completing.  I've been scared of it up to this point.  I'm not scared anymore.  I believe I can do it.  I bolieve  can do it.   Bring it.  Game on Pittsburgh.

The real reason I was able to run 17 miles: I'm Batman.

Sinceriously Yours,

Chuck Hull, The Running Jedi

#gameonpgh #runpgh #26mles26dedications

PS: Don't forget, I'm still raising money for the Mario Lemieux Foundation.  All it takes is to skip lunch for one day.

If we can get to $500.00 by the end of the next two weeks, I'll raffle off a couple gift cards.

If we can get to $1000.00 raised by March 15th, I'll raffle off an authentic Mario Lemieux autographed puck, with a certificate of authenticity.

Picture Proof.

click here to donate: https://www.crowdrise.com/lemieuxpittsburgh2016/fundraiser/chuckhull

14 miles of worry..and one in underwear!

 This past weekend was a very cold one.   It was also a weekend where I was scheduled to run the furthest distance I ever ran: 14 miles.  That doesn't seem like a lot when you consider I've run 4 half marathons (13.1 miles.)  However, 14 miles is 14 miles.  To explain it those in Pittsburgh that may not run, it's the same distance if I ran from my house on Neville Island to the Consol Energy Center in downtown Pittsburgh (14.1 per Google Maps.)  That's pretty far for human legs.

     This weekend was a little tougher because the temperatures were not friendly.  The SCRR group runs start at 8:30am and it was supposed to be about 6 degrees out with  wind chill of -10.   Needless to say, the group runs were cancelled.   I wanted to do 14 on Saturday, but I took some sound advise from my girlfriend and waited to run with a group on Sunday instead.  Even thought it was still supposed to be cold, it wasn't going to be as cold at 11:00 AM when were were planning on running.  But, I still ran on Saturday. I put in 5 miles after bundling up, and the cold didn't really both me.  It never really has.  It was sunny out, and I was just enjoying the calm around me.

Sadly, my shadow does not look like Darth Vader's shadow......

Busy street, a little snow, and sun blazing in the sky.

Facecicles! (not a word)

     I did end up running  5 miles that morning, but then I had to prepare for something else: The Cupid Undie Run.   This is the third year that this fun run was held in Pittsburgh, and it's in approx. 38 major U.S. cities.   What is the Cupid Undie Run all about?  Well, you run in your underwear on or near Valentine's day.  Now, why in the heck would anyone run in their underwear in the dead of winter?  That's easy to answer.  There are two reasons.  The first is simply because we're crazy.  The second is because it's for charity, and what better reason is there?  The Cupid Undie Run and Cupid Charities were started to help raise money to help fight NF, or neurobibromatosis.  The short story is that this disease affects the nervous system where inoperable tumors can grow on your nervous system which can lead to blindness, deafnesss, etc.  I'm not the best at explaining it, but you can find that information here: http://www.cupidsundierun.com/info/charity-info/.  

     Some of you may have never heard of this disorder.  I know I hadn't until about three years ago when the first Cupid Run came to Pittsburgh.  A friend of a friend has a daughter who has been in treatment for this disease so of course I was going to run this one.  I did think it was a 5k at first, and was a little disappointed that it wasn't, but again I really knew nothing about this race and it turned into a lot of fun.   This year being the third year, I joined the planning committee so that I could learn how something like this is organized.  Let me tell you, I didn't learn a whole lot because there was just so much to know!   All I can really say is that those that did set up the day's events did one hell of a job.  I don't know how they did it, but they did, and with much success.  Pittsburgh raised over $300,000 for Cupid Charities.   You know how we roll here in the 'burgh.  It's always go big or go home!  For the race, the runnerw more or less party for two hours, and then after a few drinks, run a mile in their underwear.  This past Saturday, it was as you already know, so very cold.  

     What does something like this look like?  It looks like all of this:

Photo courtesy of Kiersten Hoy Camacho 

Photo courtesy of Michael Markilinski

Photo courtesy of Bev Bagosi

Photo courtesy of Camille Goodrum

     I was asked by one of the photographers of the event how I could just stand there in the cold.  I told her it was easy when you couldn't feel your legs anyway and didn't realize you were still actually standing.

     Overall, it was a long exhausting day, but the race directors did a great job with this year's run.  Please tip your hats to these three wonderful ladies (as well as all the members of the committe):

Left to right: Race Directors Amy Boyce Bates, Rachael Olbeter, and Kelly Kolling. Photo courtesy of  Cara Antonelli.

     Sorry folks.  You do not get to see me in my underwear.  I'm sure you are all OK with that.   But, rest assured, this adorable little girl thanks you for enduring the cold in  your panties, and so do kids like her all over the world

Little Kelsey Hanahan, daughter of April and Tom.

In fact, all these adorable kids thank you Pittsburgh:

Photo Courtesy of race director Rachael Olbeter, whose son is pictured in front.

     After such a long day on Saturday, how was I going to run on Sunday?  I had 14 miles to do.   No matter how worried or scared I was, I did it,  I was sore for two days, but I did it.  I'd love to tell you about it, but today's blog I wanted to really talk more about Pittsburgh's Cupid's.  I'll just have to talk about the 16 miles I have run this weekend next time (and hope I don't bore you in the process.)

     Until hen, I'll see you out on the streets, and I'll run right beside you, every step of the way.

Sinceriously Yours,

Chuck Hull - The Running Jedi

#26miles26dedications #gameonpgh #runpgh #runtastic

Don't forget:  Let's try to get to $500.00 raised for the Mario Lemieux foundation this coming weekend!  I'll raffle off two $25.00 gift cards to two lucky people if we reach that mark.  Gift card of your choice! Let's help fight cancer folks!

https://www.crowdrise.com/lemieuxpittsburgh2016/fundraiser/chuckhull

Seeing and Smelling PGH

     Well, work has been very busy and I haven't had as much time as I'd like to get a posting in.  However, I found a little time to do just that today.  Training is still going full swing and I'm still feeling pretty good every time I run.

There are so many great places in this city to run.  Most of the time, when I'm by myself, I default to running around Neville Island and Coraopolis.   I enjoy running fun laps around Carnegie when I'm running with my girlfriend.  But, most of all, she and I agree that running throughout the city it just something else.   Pittsburgh is an incredible city.  There are plenty of fantastic views at every corner.  The people are amazing.  There is just something about the way you feel when youu are running around your home town, especially on a nice sunny day.

One of the last group runs with SCRR had us taking on part of the marathon course though the north side.   When you are running in the city, or anywhere for that matter, and you are running very early in the morning, you notice a lot of smells.  Not really the bad ones (and there some) but mostly the good ones.  We're talking about the smells coming from businesses that are open for breakfast.   A good old fashion mom and pop shop with the morning grill fired up.  I can always smell fresh bacon, pancakes, etc. make it hard to keep going because everything smells so good!  All those wonderful scents tend to make me so hungry!  My mouth waters and by the time I'm done, it's time to feast.

When I'm running around at night the smells are not as great, unless you're running by a burger joint of pizza shop.  However, in the winter, it's the smell of a fresh fireplace that seems to soothe my soul a little bit.  It brings back fond memories of camping as a boy scout, or hanging out with friends at a bon fire as an adult.  I love that kind of smell.   It makes me feel as though there is some sort of peace and tranquility in the air.

Aside from the smells, the scenery is also something to behold.  When you are driving around town, or even where you are from, you mostly notice nothing but the traffic.   I mean, you sort of have to pay attention to that when you're driving anyway.  You really don't have time to look around.  When you are running, you have nothing but time, just as long as you still keep your eyes ahead of you for the most part so that you know where you are going.  You tend to notice places that you've never seen before.   Places where you might want to grab a bit to eat sometime.  Places where you may want to just kick back and relax.  Even a spot to take a 5 minute rest on a long run, and just take in everything around you.

The sights and smells are just a few of the things that make me really enjoy running.  Running does keep me grounded and keep me calm, but being able to use all of my senses while I'm running I feel is something pretty special.  Knowing that I can share things with everyone in this blog based on my being able to notice things around me makes me appreciate those things just a little more.

So, that's what I'm going to do today.  Share some pics of where I run.  Nothing fancy really, but just a few that I took.   It's OK to stop and take a picture now and again when you run.  After all, a picture is worth a 1000 words, or, for a runner, a 1000 steps.

Sinceriously Yours,

Chuck Hull, the running Jedi (still being true to my nature here.. haha)

#runpgh #gameonpgh #26miles26dedications

PS: Please if you can spare $10.00, donate to my marathon fundraiser.  My goal is to raise $1600.  If I reach that goal, I'll be able to raffle off a signed Mario Lemieux Jersey to one lucky person who has donated to the cause.  I'm a long way off.  Only at $125.00 now.  If I can reach $350 by Valentine's day, I'll raffle off a $25.00 gift card to one lucky person.   If I reach $500.00, I'll raffle off two.   Let's do this!

https://www.crowdrise.com/lemieuxpittsburgh2016/fundraiser/chuckhull

And now...some pics!



The frozen Ohio River from the Coraopolis/Neville Island bridge.



The crick running through Carnegie. Looks cold!



Getting ready to take Carothers in Carnegie and Scott Twp.



Empty tracks running through Carnegie



Something about the way the city reflects off the calm waters of the Allegheny River at night from the North Shore trail.



I had to take two pics.  This one is just amazing.



Downtown Coraopolis at Christmas reminded me of Sonic The Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis.